Songs that peaked high, then dropped right out of the top 40

[doofus67]

Great idea, LC! 

I got lots of help on this list from freakyflybry, who, during the Bush administration, gathered up all the songs in the '80s that left the countdown immediately after peaking. The thread was called "Songs on AT40 that climbed, then fell off," a description that, taken literally, would apply to 97% of the stuff that ever made it. Oh well. Also, the Records and Charts Database came in handy, as usual; so did World Radio History. 

Song	Peak position	Next position	Date
"Play Me"	#11	#41	10/21/72
"Starting All Over Again"	#19	#41	11/18/72
"Give It to the People"	#20	#66	11/2/74
"Sweet Home Alabama"	#8	#44	11/9/74
"Steppin' Out (Gonna Boogie Tonight)"	#7	#48	11/9/74
"Carefree Highway"	#10	#42	11/23/74
"Rockin' Soul"	#18	#42	11/30/74
"Touch Me"	#19	#41	12/14/74
"Must of Got Lost"	#12	#44	1/11/75
"Free Bird" (studio version)	#19	#51	2/8/75
"Stand by Me"	#20	#49	5/10/75
"Hijack"	#14	#42	6/7/75
"Every Time You Touch Me"	#19	#47	8/9/75
"I'm on Fire" [Dwight Twilley Band]	#16	#53	8/16/75
"Slippery When Wet"	#19	#56	8/16/75
"Mornin' Beautiful"	#14	#45	8/23/75
"Holdin' On to Yesterday"	#17	#41	9/13/75
"Tush"	#20	#42	9/13/75
"Third Rate Romance"	#14	#41	9/27/75
"Daisy Jane"	#20	#47	10/4/75
"(I Believe) There's Nothing Stronger Than Our Love"	#15	#41	10/11/75
"What a Diff'rence a Day Makes"	#20	#51	11/22/75
"Secret Love"	#20	#42	12/20/75
"I Want'a Do Something Freaky to You"	#15	#44	12/27/75
"Our Day Will Come"	#11	#42	1/3/76
"The Last Game of the Season"	#18	#54	1/3/76
"Rock and Roll All Nite" (live version)	#12	#47	2/7/76
"Somewhere in the Night"	#19	#45	2/28/76
"Grow Some Funk of Your Own" / "I Feel Like a Bullet"	#14	#42	3/6/76
"Wake Up Everybody"	#12	#44	3/13/76
"Baby Face"	#14	#45	3/13/76
"Action"	#20	#51	4/24/76
"Livin' for the Weekend"	#20	#47	5/8/76
"Happy Music"	#19	#45	5/29/76
"Crackerbox Palace"	#19	#41	4/2/77
"Send In the Clowns"	#19	#49	12/10/77
"Every Kinda People"	#16	#42	7/8/78
"Even Now"	#19	#43	7/8/78
"I Can't Stand the Rain"	#18	#42	7/22/78
"I'm Not Gonna Let It Bother Me Tonight"	#14	#51	8/26/78
"King Tut"	#17	#57	8/26/78
"Who Are You"	#14	#52	11/28/78
"Change of Heart"	#19	#44	12/16/78
"Forever in Blue Jeans"	#20	#51	3/31/79
"Precious Love"	#19	#46	5/12/79
"Getting Closer"	#20	#74	8/11/79
"The Boss"	#19	#44	10/20/79
"Hold On" [Ian Gomm]	#18	#65	11/10/79
"I Know a Heartache When I See One"	#19	#57	11/17/79
"Come to Me"	#15	#57	11/24/79
"All Night Long"	#19	#41	8/9/80
"All over the World"	#13	#45	10/18/80
"Out Here on My Own"	#19	#41	11/29/80
"Sweet Baby"	#19	#43	8/15/81
"Touch Me When We're Dancing"	#16	#45	8/29/81
"Feels So Right"	#20	#41	9/19/81
"Just Once"	#17	#41	11/28/81
"Come Go with Me"	#18	#56	2/13/82
"Find Another Fool"	#16	#62	5/1/82
"Nobody Said It Was Easy"	#18	#85	5/1/82
"Hang Fire"	#20	#55	5/22/82
"Get Down on It"	#10	#47	6/5/82
"Making Love"	#13	#50	7/3/82
"Take Me Down"	#18	#44	7/31/82
"American Music"	#16	#81	9/18/82
"Love Is in Control"	#10	#59	10/2/82
"Love Will Turn You Around"	#13	#67	10/2/82
"Let Me Tickle Your Fancy"	#18	#49	10/9/82
"Only Time Will Tell"	#17	#57	10/9/82
"Do You Wanna Touch Me"	#20	#46	10/16/82
"Blue Eyes"	#12	#43	10/23/82
"Hold On" [Santana]	#15	#73	11/6/82
"Don't Fight It"	#17	#76	11/6/82
"What's Forever For"	#19	#66	11/13/82
"American Heartbeat"	#17	#44	12/4/82
"Southern Cross"	#18	#42	12/11/82
"Pressure"	#20	#54	12/11/82
"Nobody"	#15	#56	12/11/82
"Muscles"	#10	#41	12/25/82
"The Look of Love"	#18	#43	1/29/83
"You Got Lucky"	#20	#44	2/19/83
"Can'tcha Say (You Believe in Me)"	#20	#41	5/2/87

[dukelightning]

One of the few maybe the only one that Casey mentioned is "Grow Some Funk of Your Own" which fell from its #14 peak to 42.

[LC]

What was going on in November 1974? Three Top 10 hits cliff diving that month.

[dukelightning]

Not to mention several #1 hits dropping from the top to either 12 or 15. It has been attributed to the economy with a recession setting in. Not sure if it was at the retail or wholesale level or both. But older records were shelved in favor of new ones during this time frame.
1982 had a similar rash of big droppers. But that is attributed to chart director Bill Wardlow.

[dth1971]

Did Boston's "Cantcha Say/Still In Love" in 1987 reach #20 for peak before falling off the top 40?

[michaelcasselman]

Sept 23, 2024 9:34:47 GMT -5 dth1971 said:

Did Boston's "Cantcha Say/Still In Love" in 1987 reach #20 for peak before falling off the top 40?

Yes. Spent two weeks at 20, then fell to 41.

[benster72]

Am I missing something? Where is the biggest dropper of them all? Even the Nights are Better. 6-42.

[doofus67]

It didn't peak at #6.

[mga707]

Sept 24, 2024 14:15:51 GMT -5 doofus67 said:

It didn't peak at #6.

Correct. 8-7-6-6-6-5-5-6 was the song's top 10 run.

[cayleytable]

I was already thinking about stuff related to this topic last week, and wrote a blog post centered around one of the songs on the list. That Summer song had one odd feature to its chart run in the context of late '82 Top 40s.

musicofmylife.net/2024/09/25/american-top-40-pastblast-9-25-82-donna-summer-love-is-in-control-finger-on-the-trigger/

[doofus67]

Thanks, cayleytable. I went back to page 10 of my favorite thread, Chart Manipulations, and found 48 songs, not 38, that fell at least 40 notches from the top 40 between August and December, 1982.

[cayleytable]

Sept 25, 2024 12:34:18 GMT -5 doofus67 said:

Thanks, cayleytable. I went back to page 10 of my favorite thread, Chart Manipulations, and found 48 songs, not 38, that fell at least 40 notches from the top 40 between August and December, 1982.

I mis-wrote! Meant the last four, not five, months of '82. That still doesn't I got it right, as I was counting quickly. Thanks much for reading!